Celtic’s windfall nears as European sides prepare for Moussa Dembele bidding war

MOUSSA DEMBELE is being linked with a multi-million pound move which could net the Scottish Champions up to £6m from a sell-on clause inserted into the deal when he left the club. The striker left Celtic for Lyon in the summer of 2018 and now after two years performing in France, looks set for a move away from Lyon with a number of top clubs linked with his signature.

Lyon failed to qualify for the European spots, despite remaining in the 2019/20 Champions League, which means that should the fail to win the tournament, they may need to sell some of their star players. Reports from French site Foot Mercato claim that Arsenal, PSG and Atletico Madrid are competing in the race to sign Dembele.

The 23-year-old has gained the attention of some of Europe’s top sides but has kept his head down and worked on improving his game in Ligue 1. However, Lyon boss Rudi Garcia admitted that the club were already in discussions about replacing Dembele as they anticipate interest in the Frenchman.

“Moussa and Houssem are among the best players on the team but these are different cases. If we receive proposals, we will analyse. Moussa had a good season, he still has room for improvement, he brings us a lot and scores a lot. Two important players.

“If we lose two players of this level, we will look for replacements, of the same level I hope, we have already discussed with the president.”

In May it was believed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side would be favourites to sign the Frenchman but the emergence of Mason Greenwood means that they gave decided to postpone their pursuit of Dembele leaving other clubs to fight for his signature. that Celtic could benefit from a windfall should he be sold.

Celtic are believed to have a 15% sell-on fee for Dembele, which would rake in an astonishing £6m as it would be taken off of Lyon’s profit of the deal – which would be £40m if the fee of £60m transpires.

A potential £6m windfall would be perfect for Celtic at the moment given the strain that COVID-19 has put on Scottish football. It also would allow the club to position themselves better when the inevitable interest for our star players come.

Kris Ajer, Callum McGregor and Odsonne Edouard will all be sought after in the summer but Celtic should hold firm owing to the strong financial position in the bank. Celtic need to make sure that the playing side are in the best possible position in order to win 10IAR and the potential windfall from Dembele’s sale could be ideal.

About Author

Born just as Celtic were stopping the Ten, Lubo98 follows Celtic home and away and helps run his local Celtic Supporters Club. He goes to all the games and is a Law Graduate. Has a particular fondness for Tom Rogic among the current Celts and both Lubo and Henrik form his earliest Celtic memories.

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